Kannauj, 28 December: The Ahmedabad unit of Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) launched a search operation on December 22 at the factory premises of spice and perfume manufacturers in Kanpur. The investigation is still going on in this.
However, the raids were conducted at the residential/factory premises of M/s Odochem Industries, suppliers of Shikhar brand pan masala and tobacco products, office/warehouse of M/s Ganpati Road Carriers, Transport Nagar, Kanpur and Kannauj.
After stopping 4 trucks carrying pan masala and tobacco of the said brand without payment of GST, the officials tallied the actual stock available in the factory with the stock recorded in the books and found shortage of raw material. It further confirmed that the manufacturer was indulging in clandestine removal of the goods with the help of the transporter, who used to issue fake invoices to manage the transportation of the said goods.
The authorities have also seized more than 200 such fake challans. Manufacturers of Shikhar brand pan masala/tobacco products have accepted and deposited an amount of Rs 3.09 crore towards their tax liability.
The search proceedings started on December 22 at the residential premises of the partners of M/s Odochem Industries located at 143, Anadpuri, Kanpur have come to an end. The total amount of unaccounted cash recovered and confiscated from this premises is Rs 177.45 crore. This is the biggest ever seizure of cash by CBIC officials. Documents seized from the premises are being scrutinized. Besides this, the DGGI officials have also searched the residential/factory premises of M/s Odochem Industries at Kannauj which is in progress.
During the raids in Kannauj, officials have been able to recover about Rs 17 crore in cash, which is currently being counted by SBI officials.
In addition, around 23 kg of gold and huge unaccounted raw materials used in manufacturing of aromatic compounds including over 600 kgs of sandalwood oil hidden in underground storage having market value of around Rs.06 crore have been recovered.
The search operation in Kannauj is likely to continue till evening. Since the recovered gold is of foreign mark, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) is being engaged for necessary investigation.
Meanwhile, Piyush Jain, partner of M/s Odochem Industries, Kannauj, was questioned by the DGGI officials on the basis of the evidence collected during the investigation so far.
His statement has been recorded on December 25/26 under Section 70 of the Act, in which Jain has admitted that the cash recovered from the residential premises pertains to sale of goods without payment of GST.
In view of the overwhelming evidence available on record indicating large scale evasion of GST by M/s Odochem Industries, Kannauj, Piyush Jain has been arrested and produced on December 26 for the offenses prescribed under Section 132 of the CGST Act before the competent court on December 27.
The evidence gathered during the raids in the last 5 days is being thoroughly examined to unearth the tax evasion.
